Motion-picture apparatus



R. W. PITTIVIAN.

i MOTION PICTURE APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED DIECILIQIS. IIENEII/En IIILY Io, 1920.

@muted Apr. 25; 1922 3 SHEETS-SHEET l II. W. PIIIA/I'AAI.

MOTION PICTURE APPARATUSI- APPLICATION FILED DECy I2, ISIS. REIIEWED IuLY Io. I92o.

l ,4c l 3,6 l 0. Patnted 'Apr- 25, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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II. vv. PITIII/IAN.

MOTION PICTURE APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED DIzc` I2. I9Ia. RENEwED JULY Io, 1920.

1,41 3,6 1 O. PaIenIea Apr. 25,1922.

SHEETS-SHEET s.

niiimranr ritmi/mii, on New Yon/ir, n.

Morrow-morons arranarns.

Specification of Letters Patent. Pattgntfl tying 25, 1922;` j'

Application led December 12, 1913, Serial'o. 606,13?.v Renewed July 10, 1920. Serial Nof395,378.

To all whom t meg/concern? y Be it known that l, RniNiiAR'r ll/PITT- MAN, a citizen ot the United States, residing in the bor'oufh of Manhattan, in the city,`

county, and Slate of New York, have invented newand useful Improvements in Motion- Picture Apparatus, of which the following gis a specification.

This inventionl relates vto motion picture apparatus, and relates particularly to a con; vertible `combination iapparatus adapted for several uses, such, for instance, as a camera for photographing pictures or successive phases oi moving or animate objects uponv a l web film, a printing apparatus for printing a positive from a negative taken by the cai'n-A era, and a projecting machine to project the successive phases of suchv picture so made on toa screen, and it is the object of the invention to provide an apparatus of this charac- .ter which is simple, cheap and compact iii construction and eiiicient in operation, which is readily portable and may be utilized without the use of a tripod, and to providean apparatus of this character in which the opera-tive parts are actuated by a spring operated mechanism regulated by a suitable governor making it an automatic device which may be controlled at will by a push-button the same,

@ther objects and advantages will hereinafter appear.

to set the mechanismin operation or to ,stop

W ith these objects in viewl provide a rectangular casing to carry the operative mechanism of the apparatus, said casing having a transversepartition adjacent the :torward end to form a compartment in the iront, the front wall oi the casing being in the form of a hinged door carrying a lens whereby access may be had to said compartment, the transverse wall carrying aperture plates and a rotatable shutter being enclosed in said compartment. The portion ofthe casing in the rear of the transverse wall is divided longitudinally into twoy compartnients, one containing the Yleerling devices for the film and magazines for the nlm, while the other compartment contains the spring operated mechanism actuate the shutter and the film feeding ricas. The side walls are in the nature or liinged doors whereby to get access to the one compartment to place the hfn -:rnagezines therein and.

thread the tllm through the feeding devices and to getaccess to the spring operated mechanism contained in the other compartment.

ln the drawings laccoinpanying and forining a part of this speciiication, Figure l is a perspective view, partly broken away, of anl apparatus illustrating an embodiment of my Figure 4 is a side elevation, partly in section, with the side door removed to illustrate the feeding devices and the matter of adapting the apparatus to a picture projecting machine.

Figure 5 is a side elevation of an adjustable device adapted to the film eedingdevice to vary the length or height of the successive phases oi a picture.

Figures G and-7 are views of portions of film illustrating pictures ot different lengths or heights adapted to be taken by the apparatus. v g

Figure 8 is a detail view illustrating the push button actuated means to set the operative mechanisms in motion and to stop the same.

Similar characters of reference designate like parts throughout the didei'eiit views of the drawings.

ln the embodiment of my invention illustrated in Figure l oi" the drawings I have shown the apparatus adapted toxa camera to photograph successive phases or' moving or animate objects. -The operative parts of the mechanism are enclosed in a substantially rectangular casing (designated in a general way by C). Extending 'transversely of the l casing adjacent the 'forward end is a partition or wall 13, the iront wall being in the form of a hinged door lt having an angular portion l5 to constitute a part oi one ot the side walls and Acarryinff a lens loin a suit-I shown in Figure 4, to permit of the passage of a web film 20. These plates have alined openings or apertures 21, 22, and which openings are in line with the lens 16, the

opening 21 in the forward plate having a forwardly projecting flange extending of dthe film betweensaid plates and for vanother purpose to be hereinafter described. The plate 19 is also provided at its upper end with a curved portion to serve as a guide for the film.

The portion of the casing in the rear of the wall 13 is separated longitudinally by al partition or wall 29 into two compartments, and said wall also acts as a support for the operative mechanism of the apparatus. One of these compartments is adapted to receive a pair of superposed magazines 30 for the film releasably retained therein.

As already stated the film passes between the aperture plates 18, 19 and is fed or advanced intermittently by the pointed ends of a pair of pawls 4() engaging in the perforations in the film adjacent its lateral edges. These pawls are fixed at one end to a bar 41 pivotally supported, as at 42, by an arm fixed to said bar to have oscillatorymovement. At aV point between their ends the paivls are pivotally connected, as at 43, to a continuously revoluble wheel or disk, 44, the connection of the pawls to the wheel being eccentric to the axis of rotation of the wheel. By mounting the pawls upon the wheels in this manner the pointed or free ends thereof 'will have a circular orbit of movement, and

whenV in their uppermost position will engage with the film perforations and advance the filmluntil they reach their lowermost position When they are withdrawn from said perforations. To prevent the pawls entering too far into the film perforations with the consequent rupturing and tearing of the same, the aperture plates are curved forwardly as at 28. and the plates have a pair of 'longitudinal slots 45 in line with the film perforations to permit of the passage of the pawls during their film advancing movement. 1n practice the coil of sensitized film is loosely placed on the core in the upper magazine with one end passing through the slot 38 therein. rl`he film is then passed around an idle roller 46, over the curved portion at the top of plate19, thence between the plates 18, 19 and ar0und"`the sprocket A rotatable shutter 23,.

wheel 47, the film being so threaded that there is a slack portion or loop adjacent the sprocket 47; from thence the film passes to the lower magazine.

A spring 48 is provided to maintain the film in operative relation with the sprocket 47. The plate 18 may also have resilient fingers 49 fixed thereto adapted to pass through adjacent slots in the plates to engage with the film and retard the movement heights, forinstance, as shown bythe dotted lines in Figure 7. For this purpose the pawls are adjustably carried by the wheel 44 to increase or decrease the eccentricity of the connection of the pawls to the wheel relative to the axis of rotation of the latter, and thereby increase or decrease the throw of the pawls. y

Suitable means are provided for operating the device. i For this purpose I provide a train of gearing actuated by a spring S one end of which is secured, as at 60, and the. other end connected to a rotatable shaft 61, the end of which is squared for the application of a key to wind the spring.- A gear 62 is loosely mounted on said shaft and connected to the shaft to be actuated by the spring by a ratchet wheel 63 fixed to the shaft and a pawl 64 pivotally carried by the gear toco-operate with said ratchet Wheel. The gear 62 meshes with a pinion 65 fixed to a rotatable shaft 66. The film take-up is operated by a belt 67 passing around a pulley 68 on the shaft 66 vand a pulley 69 on the shaft 36. This belt is preferably of a resilient structure,such as a coiled spring, whereby said belt vill readily slip on the pulleys 68, 69' to compensatefor the Winding of the film on the reel connected to the shaft 36 and thereby preventing too great a strain on the film With the consequent liability of the breaking of the sa e. Also fixed to the shaft 66 is a gear 70 mes ing with a pinion 71 on a rotatable shaft 72. A gear 73 also fixed.

to the shaft 72 meshes With a pinion 74 fixed to a shaft 7 5 and upon which shaft the pawl actuating pulley 44 is also mounted. The

sprocket Wheel 47 is operated from the shaft 75 by a pinion 76 on said shaft meshing With an idle pinion 77 which meshes with a gear 7 8 connected to the sprocket Wheel 47. It will be noted that all of this mechanism as well as the feeding devices and film magazinesor boxes are mounted upon and supported by the partition Wall 29.

The shutter 23 to intercept the light rays through the apertures 217 22 is of the rotary thereby the Afilm feeding devices, shutter and film take-up are regulated through 'the instrumentality of a centrifugal governor consisting ot weights 84 carried by resilient arms 85 connected at one end to a Worm wheel 86 fixed to vertical shaft 87 cofoperating with. a worin on the shaft 75 and by means of which the governor is actuated. The upper end oit .thearms 85 are connected to a collar 88 slidably mounted on the shaft 87. To regulate" the speed'of. the governor a friction disk 89, in the present instancebeveled, is connected to the collar 88 with which an adjustable friction member 90 co-operates to retard the rotation oi the governor when it has attained a predetermined speed, said riction'member consisting of a screw 8i.

As stated th mechanism is adapted to be set in motion and stopped at will, and for this 'purposel provide a friction4 member 92 carried at the end of a slidably supported rod 98 and normally maintained in'frictional engagement with the disk 89 by aspring 9d,

4the tension of the spring being such as to cause the friction member 92 to bear against the disk 89 with such torce as to prevent operation of the mechanism by the spring S.'

To release the friction Amember 92 and permit actuation of the mechanism by the spring S, l provide a pivot/ed .leyer having a pushbutton or finger-key to impart movement to the shai't 93 to throw and maintain the friction member 92 out of engagement with the disk 88, when the different' mechanisms will be actuated by the spring until such time as the pushfbutton is'released and the friction member 92 again engages with the disk 88.

To convert the mechanism from an apparatus for taking pictures of successive phases of a moving obiect or objects to an apparatus for printing a positive from a negative' sov taken, the casing is provided with slots 9e in the top and bottom. in line with the aperture plates 18, i9, said slots when the apparatus is adapted for taking pictures being closed by liaps 95" to exclude the light from the casing. Adjacent the slot in the top 'there is provided a suitable support 88 tor a coil or developed negative ilm. rlhe negative iilm is threaded between the aperture plates to lie adjacent the trout plate 18, andthe sensitiaed film upon whicha positive is to beA printed is contained in the upper magazine and threaded between the aperture plates to lie ad'acent the plate 19 and through the :l l. .n

'feed devices to the lower magazine. The lens is removed trom the front wall or door le and a suitable electric bulb may be substituted therefore. The mechanism is now started in motion when l'the film is ted be tween the aperture plates and a positiv printed upon. the sensitized film from `the negative, both films being synchronously ted by the feeding devices.

To convert the apparatus to project pictures l provide a suitable condensing lens 98 mounted in acarrier, at89, an electric light bulb 100 also being mounted in the carrier, the carrier acting as a reflector to reflect the light rays from the light through the lens. rllhe eirteiior ci the carier has a loop 101 whereby it is adapted to be suspended from a support, as 102, secured tothe partition 29 in the compartment for the'ilm feeding devices and the magazines, said support being so located that the lens 98 will be in line with the apertures in the plates 18, i9, and the lens carried by the front wall or door ifi. rl`hecasing is provided with a hand-grip or handle to readily carry the apparatus.

rThe arrangement oit the iilni y,ir'eeding means as set forth in 5, because ot requirement for division has been made subi ect matter of an application Serial No. 407,889.

Having thus described my invention, l claim: i

l. ln motion picture apparatus, the combination of a casing' separated into a pluralityof compartments arranged to provide access to either` of said compartments vindependently of the others; an aperture in the partition between two of said compartments in line with a llens carried by the outer wall ofthe casing; means iii the one compartment to 'feed a web film across theapertiire; a shutter in another compartment to inten cept the light rays. through the lens to said aperture-g a train ci .gearing carried in another compartment of the casing operatively connected to the film 'feeding means and shutter' to actuate said means and shutter synchronously; a spring in said latter compartment to'actuate said gearing; a governoralso in said latter compartmentto regulate l,the movement of the mechanism.; a member to co-operate with the governor to prevent ,operation of the mechanism by the spring;

and a lever connected at one end with the means to co-operate with the governor and having a finger key at the opposite end eX- teriorly of the casing to operate said means, substantially as and for the purpose specied.v

2. ln a motion picture apparatus,- a combination of a-casing separated by partitions into a plurality oi" compartments arranged to provide access to' either ot' theI compartments independently of the others, a lens carried by the outer wall of the casing, the partition between two of said compartments having an aperture in line with. said lens, means in the one said-compartment to feed a Welo lhn` across the aperture; a shutter inthe other said compartment to intercept the'lght rays through the lens to said aperture; operating means including a spring andgovernor earried in another compartment of the casingoperatively connected to /the lm 'feeding meansand shutter to actuate said means and shutter synchronously, a member in seid compartment to Jo-operate with the governor 10 

